Communist candidate tops mayoral poll in Siberia’s biggest city

Anatoly Lokot (left), Novosibirsk mayoral candidate and State Duma deputy from the Russian Communist Party, at the press briefing on the preliminary results of the early mayoral election in Novosibirsk at the party's regional committee.(RIA Novosti / Alexandr Kryazhev) / RIA Novosti

A Communist Party candidate has won the mayoral elections in the ‘Siberian capital’, Novosibirsk, leaving behind the United Russia candidate in what could be seen as a joint achievement by opposition forces.

Anatoly Lokot has won with about 43.75 percent of votes, the
Novosibirsk regional elections commission reported on Monday
morning. This is not the official result yet, but the preliminary
figure was received after counting over 99 percent of ballots and
any drastic deviations are unlikely.

Lokot’s result was about 4 percent higher than the one of
Vladimir Znatkov - interim mayor representing parliamentary
majority party United Russia. The support of the rest of 11
candidates was negligible – none of them managed to get 4 percent
of the vote.

The mayoral poll was closely watched by the mass media because
Novosibirsk is Russia’s third-largest city, the administrative
and industrial center of Siberia, as well as a major science and
technology hub.

The result was largely unexpected, as until recently United
Russia party had dominated the political scene, capitalizing on
the centrist conservative course which appeals to ordinary
Russians, and taking credit for strong social programs and
independent foreign policy that are both trademarks of President
Vladimir Putin’s course.

United Russia candidate Vladimir Znatkov had the additional
advantages of being acting mayor since January this year and
before that heading the economic bloc in the city administration
for several years. At the same time he faced serious problems
during the race – in March a city court ordered he be removed
from the ballot over abuse of power. Competitors had complained
that Znatkov used every appearance on TV as propaganda and as the
city head he spent more time on screen than the rest of the
contenders. Very soon this decision was overturned by the
regional court, but the damage to Znatkov’s reputation remained.

However, the main reason behind the interim mayor’s defeat is the
coordinated efforts of opposition forces – a relatively rare
occasion in modern Russia. The initial number of registered
candidates in the Novosibirsk poll was 17. In the middle of the
race, five people, including leftist lower house MP Ilya
Ponomaryov and former senator Ivan Starikov, made a pact and
withdrew their candidacies in favor of just one representative of
the opposition - member of the Communist Party’s Central
Committee and former State Duma MP Anatoly Lokot.

One more candidate quit without supporting anyone, bringing the
number of candidates to 11.

On Monday morning Lokot gave a press conference as mayor-elect
and thanked all Novosibirsk residents for their “credit of
trust,” adding that he did not intend to waste it. The first
initiative of the Communist politician was to hold a major
‘Subbotnik’ – a day of voluntary community service that was first
introduced in the early days of the Soviet Union.

The mayor-elect also dismissed media allegations of the looming
“red terror” – major purges in the administration
stating that he planned to use civil servants’ professionalism as
the only criteria in forming the new team. Lokot promised to use
his old connections in the federal power bodies to get more
federal funds for development of the Novosibirsk communal sector
and transport, including the Metro.

The newly-minted mayor also unveiled a plan to boost the
cooperation between the administration and the society by adding
openness to the various state bodies. The first step in this will
be free entrance to City Hall for everyone.

“We should remove all curbs. What is there to be afraid of?
Protest actions? Hard work will do away with such fears,” Lokot
was quoted as saying by Rossiiskaya Gazeta daily.